Published: Sunday, November 11, 2012 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 9, 2012 at 5:04 p.m.

With the re-election of President Barack Obama on Tuesday, it is time for Republicans and Democrats to put aside their differences and find a way to avert the “fiscal cliff” of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that will go into effect next year if they do nothing.

Republican lawmakers have signaled that they are willing to compromise on new revenues, and Obama must also be willing to work with them in good faith. We cannot afford a replay of the kind of deadlock that gave us last year’s ridiculous debt ceiling fiasco.

It’s not clear whether Republicans are willing to agree to let the Bush-era tax cuts expire for the rich in order to save them for everyone else. Republicans want new revenues to come from closing loopholes and reforming the tax code. But the long overdue revamp of federal taxes is unlikely to be accomplished in the short lame-duck session remaining this year.

The problem is, the fiscal cliff won’t wait. Legislation passed last year mandates automatic increases in most tax rates and deep across-the-board cuts in government spending unless Congress acts to cut the nation’s staggering deficit by the end of this year.

It is up to Obama, the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate to find a way to avert this crisis and the widespread damage it could do to the nation’s gradually improving economy. Americans should demand that politicians put aside their differences and focus on constructive action to avoid another recession at all costs.

Since President Obama’s victory Tuesday, Republicans have been pondering what went wrong.

Some have blamed the Democratic victory on Superstorm Sandy, which struck the Northeast days before the election, forcing Romney to stand down his attacks and allowing the president to exhibit leadership in a crisis.

Others have pointed to Romney’s shifting positions on many issues and his transition from a moderate governor to a self-described “severe” conservative in the GOP primary, then back to a more moderate stance in the general election.

No doubt, Romney’s shape-shifting made many voters uncomfortable, as did his remarks denigrating 47 percent of Americans as dependent on government. Blaming a natural disaster for such a decisive outcome, however, seems far-fetched.

The main reason for the election outcome has been evident and pointed out by many observers since Tuesday: America is changing, and Obama and the Democrats have done a much better job of embracing and enlisting these demographics. Our nation is becoming more ethnic, more urban, more educated and more connected by technology to a world of information and viewpoints and to each other. All these changes worked in Obama’s favor.

Another factor that propelled Obama to victory: the president’s vaunted “ground game” to turn out new voters across the nation, especially in swing states. “By Election Day, the Obama team claimed to have registered 1.8 million new voters in the battleground states, almost double the number of new voters the campaign registered four years earlier,” Bloomberg reported.

The Republican brand has been tarnished by mishandling of the economy and foreign affairs under George W. Bush. Thus the party has been unable to achieve the durable GOP majority envisioned by Karl Rove, Bush’s key strategist. Obama, not Romney, was able to tap into Americans’ natural optimism — the same spirit that powered Ronald Reagan to victory in 1980 and 1984.

The president won 93 percent of the African-American vote, 71 percent among Hispanics, 60 percent among younger voters and 55 percent among women. Republicans cannot afford to continue to write off growing sections of the electorate. The GOP must expand its appeal to voters of all kinds.

This starts with working in good faith on legislation to reduce the deficit and reform immigration. It’s also time for the GOP to abandon its obsession with repealing Obama’s health care reform law and work instead to improve the law. Being the party of “no” won’t cut it anymore.

<p>With the re-election of President Barack Obama on Tuesday, it is time for Republicans and Democrats to put aside their differences and find a way to avert the fiscal cliff of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that will go into effect next year if they do nothing.</p><p>Republican lawmakers have signaled that they are willing to compromise on new revenues, and Obama must also be willing to work with them in good faith. We cannot afford a replay of the kind of deadlock that gave us last year’s ridiculous debt ceiling fiasco.</p><p>It’s not clear whether Republicans are willing to agree to let the Bush-era tax cuts expire for the rich in order to save them for everyone else. Republicans want new revenues to come from closing loopholes and reforming the tax code. But the long overdue revamp of federal taxes is unlikely to be accomplished in the short lame-duck session remaining this year.</p><p>The problem is, the fiscal cliff won’t wait. Legislation passed last year mandates automatic increases in most tax rates and deep across-the-board cuts in government spending unless Congress acts to cut the nation’s staggering deficit by the end of this year.</p><p>It is up to Obama, the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate to find a way to avert this crisis and the widespread damage it could do to the nation’s gradually improving economy. Americans should demand that politicians put aside their differences and focus on constructive action to avoid another recession at all costs.</p><p>Since President Obama’s victory Tuesday, Republicans have been pondering what went wrong.</p><p>Some have blamed the Democratic victory on Superstorm Sandy, which struck the Northeast days before the election, forcing Romney to stand down his attacks and allowing the president to exhibit leadership in a crisis.</p><p>Others have pointed to Romney’s shifting positions on many issues and his transition from a moderate governor to a self-described severe conservative in the GOP primary, then back to a more moderate stance in the general election.</p><p>No doubt, Romney’s shape-shifting made many voters uncomfortable, as did his remarks denigrating 47 percent of Americans as dependent on government. Blaming a natural disaster for such a decisive outcome, however, seems far-fetched.</p><p>The main reason for the election outcome has been evident and pointed out by many observers since Tuesday: America is changing, and Obama and the Democrats have done a much better job of embracing and enlisting these demographics. Our nation is becoming more ethnic, more urban, more educated and more connected by technology to a world of information and viewpoints and to each other. All these changes worked in Obama’s favor.</p><p>Another factor that propelled Obama to victory: the president’s vaunted ground game to turn out new voters across the nation, especially in swing states. By Election Day, the Obama team claimed to have registered 1.8 million new voters in the battleground states, almost double the number of new voters the campaign registered four years earlier, Bloomberg reported.</p><p>The Republican brand has been tarnished by mishandling of the economy and foreign affairs under George W. Bush. Thus the party has been unable to achieve the durable GOP majority envisioned by Karl Rove, Bush’s key strategist. Obama, not Romney, was able to tap into Americans’ natural optimism  the same spirit that powered Ronald Reagan to victory in 1980 and 1984.</p><p>The president won 93 percent of the African-American vote, 71 percent among Hispanics, 60 percent among younger voters and 55 percent among women. Republicans cannot afford to continue to write off growing sections of the electorate. The GOP must expand its appeal to voters of all kinds.</p><p>This starts with working in good faith on legislation to reduce the deficit and reform immigration. It’s also time for the GOP to abandon its obsession with repealing Obama’s health care reform law and work instead to improve the law. Being the party of no won’t cut it anymore.</p>